Dongzhi Festival

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Dongzhi Festival
ancestor worship
DateDecember solstice (between December 21 and December 23)
Frequencyannual
Related toWinter solstice
Dongzhi Festival
BUC
Dĕ̤ng-cáik
Dongzhi Festival dumplings

The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (

traditional Chinese festival celebrated during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice), which falls between December 21 and December 23.[1][2]

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the

fu (Chinese
: 復, "Returning").

Traditional activities

In Chinese, the word "Dong" means "winter" while "Zhi" means "arrival" giving the literal meaning of the festival "the coming of winter". Dongzhi celebrates the winter solstice, usually around December 21 to 23, and is observed on the longest night of the year. Symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, Dongzhi, represents that the days will start to grow longer and bring a sense of balance and harmony to people's lives. Based on Chinese beliefs of yin yang, "Yang" represents positive energy, warmth, and light. Following the Dongzhi Festival, daytime will gradually lengthen, as "Yang" will also increase.[4] It was also believed by some that it was the day the Kitchen God went to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor the conduct of a family.[5]

The festival was first celebrated by the Chinese people during the Zhou Dynasty (1045 BC–256 BC) and declared an official celebration during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). The Han people would take a break from work to celebrate with their families. They would hold heaven worshipping as well as honoring their ancestors by burning joss paper at their ancestral shrines to show gratitude.[6] In ancient times, the day was also known as the "festival of extreme length (traditional Chinese: 長至節; simplified Chinese: 长至节; pinyin: Cháng Zhì Jié) as the sun's extreme position lengthens shadows.[7]: 238  It was traditionally a very important holiday, comparable to Chinese New Year.[7]: 240–241 

The Chinese people still celebrate certain practices during the Dongzhi festival, such as the union of family.[8] In Hong Kong, many businesses let employees off early to spend time with their families on this day,[8] while in some areas shops close for the holiday.[7]: 241  In Suzhou, it is traditional to light incense at dawn.[7]: 241 

The Dongzhi Festival has historically been associated with various agricultural activities in China, particularly in rural areas. As the festival represents the winter solstice, it is a crucial time to harvest winter crops, such as wheat, barley, and radishes. It is also an important time to pay respect to certain livestock and feed these animals special meals to celebrate the occasion.[9]

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is a time for families to eat together.

sweet osmanthus flowers).[11]

People typically eat Winter Solstice dumplings (

Han Dynasty. One cold winter's day, he noticed that the poor were afflicted with chilblains on their ears. Moved to pity, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, and distribute them among the poor to keep them warm and prevent their ears from getting chilblains. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named the dish "qùhán jiāoěr tāng" (祛寒嬌耳湯) or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on, it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi. Dumplings are not only eaten by the family, but also shared with friends and relatives as a blessing. The dumplings may be molded into the shapes of animals such as dogs and cats.[12] Common superstitions include that married people should leave two uneaten to have their wishes come true, and a single person should leave one for an auspicious year.[12] According to one tradition, the dumplings should be eaten by an even number of people for good luck.[12] Many people take some of the tangyuan that have been used as offerings and stick them on the back of the door or on windows and tables and other pieces of furniture.[12] These "empowered" tangyuan serve as protective talismans
to keep evil spirits away from children.

Old traditions also require people with the same

clan
to gather at their ancestral temples to worship on this day. There is always a grand reunion dinner following the sacrificial ceremony.

Other traditional foods include

northern China.[7]
: 241 

The festive food is also a reminder that celebrators are now a year older and should behave better in the coming year. Even today, many Chinese around the world, especially the elderly, still insist that one is "a year older" right after the Dongzhi celebration instead of waiting for the Chinese New Year.

In Taiwan

In Taiwan, like in the culturally related province of

worship the ancestors
.

As well as following some of the customs practiced on mainland China, the people of Taiwan have a unique custom of offering nine-layer cakes as a ceremonial sacrifice to worship their ancestors. These cakes are made using glutinous rice flour in the shape of a chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow, or sheep, and then steamed in different layers of a pot. These animals all signify auspiciousness in

Chinese tradition
.

Many people take invigorating

metabolic rate
.

Since Dongzhi is the "extreme of winter", Taiwanese regard it as the best time of the year to take tonic foods. Some of the most widely popular winter tonic foods enjoyed by Taiwanese to fight cold and strengthen the body's resistance are mutton hot pot and ginger duck hot pot. Other foods like chicken, pork, and abalone are also common ingredients used in making tonic foods with nurturing herbs such as ginseng, deer horn, and the fungus cordyceps.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Traditional Chinese Festivals". china.org.cn. 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  2. ^ Aksjeselskap, Time and Date (2016). "Dōngzhì Festival in Taiwan". timeanddate.com. Time and Date AS.
  3. ^ Linda Sigurðardóttir, Dongzhi-Celebrating the Winter Solstice, GBTimes (Dec. 21, 2012) https://gbtimes.com/dongzhi-festival-celebrates-winter-solstice Archived 2018-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Seong, Goh Sang (2015). "PENANG CHINESE CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS". Kajian Malaysia. 33 (2): 135–152.
  5. ISBN 9789812610676
    .
  6. ISBN 9781938368288
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 957-755-300-1
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 9621419573.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  9. ^ Yu, Runze. "A Chinese sweet that's a homophone for reunion". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  10. ^ "Dongzhi Festival celebrates the winter solstice". gbtimes.com. Dec 19, 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-08-15.
  11. ^ Schrandt, Lydia (2013-01-28). "Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival". China Things to Do. Viator.
  12. ^
    ISBN 9787508516936.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  13. ^ "冬至最适合干什么？". Sohu We Media. Sohu. 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  14. ^ Yeh, Joseph (December 23, 2008). "Winter Solstice". Taiwan Culture Portal. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.

External links

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